This dramatic volatility attracted global attention with the mainstream media running near-daily reports on the price of Ether. The publicity generated has been a major boon for the ecosystem, attracting thousands of new developers and business ventures alike. In 2018 the amount raised through Ethereum-enabled ICOs reached almost $8bn, increasing from just $90m in 2016. While the price of Ethereum has faced extreme volatility over the years, it is this volatility which has driven interest. After every boom and bust cycle, Ethereum comes out the other side with a fundamentally stronger platform and a broader developer community backing it. These fundamental improvements would suggest a positive long-term outlook on the price of Ethereum. Until relatively recently, building blockchain applications has required a complex background in coding, cryptography, mathematics as well as significant resources. But times have changed. Previously unimagined applications, from electronic voting & digitally recorded property assets to regulatory compliance & trading are now actively being developed and deployed faster than ever before. By providing developers with the tools to build decentralized applications, Ethereum is making all of this possible. The overwhelming majority of bitcoin transactions take place on a cryptocurrency exchange, rather than being used in transactions with merchants.[138] Delays processing payments through the blockchain of about ten minutes make bitcoin use very difficult in a retail setting. Prices are not usually quoted in units of bitcoin and many trades involve one, or sometimes two, conversions into conventional currencies.[32] Merchants that do accept bitcoin payments may use payment service providers to perform the conversions.[139] Another type of physical wallet called a hardware wallet keeps credentials offline while facilitating transactions.[106] The hardware wallet acts as a computer peripheral and signs transactions as requested by the user, who must press a button on the wallet to confirm that they intended to make the transaction. Hardware wallets never expose their private keys, keeping bitcoins in cold storage even when used with computers that may be compromised by malware.[99]:42–45
حاليا لا يُملك مالكو عملات بيتكوين خيارات كثيرة لإنفاق أموالهم من خلالها، وهو ما يدفع ببعضهم إلى استبدالها مقابل العملات التقليدية. يتم ذلك عادة عبر منصات خاصة بذلك حيث يتم استبدال البيتكوينات مع مُستخدمين آخرين لها. يبدو أنه وفي حال ما إذا رغبت الحكومات في معرفة هويات أصحاب بعض الحسابات فما عليها سوى أن تقوم بتقنين عمليات التحويل بدل منعها، حيث سيصبح بالإمكان معرفة اسم صاحب كل حساب بُمجرد أن يرغب في استبدال ما بحوزته مقابل عملات تقليدية، وهو ما يُمثل نقطة انطلاق لتتبع الأموال المسروقة.
Mining is a record-keeping service done through the use of computer processing power.[e] Miners keep the blockchain consistent, complete, and unalterable by repeatedly grouping newly broadcast transactions into a block, which is then broadcast to the network and verified by recipient nodes.[75] Each block contains a SHA-256 cryptographic hash of the previous block,[75] thus linking it to the previous block and giving the blockchain its name.[7]:ch. 7[75] Izabella Kaminska, the editor of FT Alphaville, has pointed out that criminals are using Ethereum to run Ponzi schemes and other forms of investment fraud.[67] The article was based on a paper from the University of Cagliari, which placed the number of Ethereum smart contracts which facilitate Ponzi schemes at nearly 10% of 1384 smart contracts examined. However, it also estimated that only 0.05% of the transactions on the network were related to such contracts.[68]
تُعتبر بيتكوين عُملة معمّاة (بالإنجليزية: cryptocurrency) ويُقصد بذلك أنها تعتمد بشكل أساسي على مبادئ التشفير في جميع جوانبها، كما أنها تُعتبر أيضا العُملة الأولى من نوعها والأكثر شهرة وانتشارًا لكن رغم ذلك ليست العُملة التشفيرية الوحيدة الموجودة على شبكة الإنترنت حاليًا. حيث يتوفر ما يزيد عن 60 عُملة تشفيرية مُختلفة[6] منها 6 عُملات يُمكن وصفها بالرئيسية [7] وذلك اعتمادًا على عدد المُستخدمين وبنية كل شبكة، إضافة إلى الأماكن التي يُمكن استبدال وشراء هذه العُملات التشفيرية مُقابل عُملات أخرى. جميع العُملات التشفيرية الحالية مبنية على مبدأ عمل عُملة بيتكوين نفسها باستثناء عُملة Ripple [8]، وبما أن عُملة بيتكوين مفتوحة المصدر فإنه من المُمكن استنساخها وإدخال بعض التعديلات عليها ومن ثم إطلاق عُملة جديدة. Physical wallets can also take the form of metal token coins[102] with a private key accessible under a security hologram in a recess struck on the reverse side.[103]:38 The security hologram self-destructs when removed from the token, showing that the private key has been accessed.[104] Originally, these tokens were struck in brass and other base metals, but later used precious metals as bitcoin grew in value and popularity.[103]:80 Coins with stored face value as high as ₿1000 have been struck in gold.[103]:102–104 The British Museum's coin collection includes four specimens from the earliest series[103]:83 of funded bitcoin tokens; one is currently on display in the museum's money gallery.[105] In 2013, a Utahn manufacturer of these tokens was ordered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to register as a money services business before producing any more funded bitcoin tokens.[102][103]:80 تسمح تطبيقات بيتكوين والتي يُطلق عليها أحيانا اسم عميل بيتكوين للمُستخدمين بالتعامل مع شبكة بيتكوين. في شكله القاعدي يسمح التطبيق بتوليد وحفظ مفاتيح خاصة بالمُستخدم والاتصال بشبكة الند للند الخاص بالعُملة. تم إطلاق أول تطبيق بيتكوين سنة 2009 من طرف ساتوشي ناكاموتو مُؤسس عُملة بيتكوين كتطبيق مجاني ومفتوح المصدر. يُستخدم هذا التطبيق -والذي يُطلق عليه عادة اسم تطبيق ساتوشي- كمحفظة على الحواسيب الشخصية للقيام بعمليات دفع إلكترونية أو كخادوم لاستقبال تلك المدفوعات ولخدمات أخرى مُتعلقة بالدفع. أما تطبيق Bitcoin-Qt فيتم اعتباره كتطبيق مرجعي بحكم أنه يُمثل الآلية التي يعمل من خلالها بروتوكول بيتكوين ويُعتبر مثالا يُحتذى به لغيره من التطبيقات. لدى القيام بعمليات شراء باستخدام الهواتف الذكية فإنه عادة ما يتم استخدام تطبيقات بيتكوين تقوم بتوليد و/أو قراءة QR codes لتسهيل مهمة التحويل والدفع. كما تتوفر حاليا عدة تطبيقات تعمل كخواديم تقوم بتأكيد الإجراءات التي تتم على الشبكة وتقوم بإضافتها كتلة تحويلات. On 1 August 2017, a hard fork of bitcoin was created, known as Bitcoin Cash.[111] Bitcoin Cash has a larger block size limit and had an identical blockchain at the time of fork. On 24 October 2017 another hard fork, Bitcoin Gold, was created. Bitcoin Gold changes the proof-of-work algorithm used in mining, as the developers felt that mining had become too specialized.[112]

Despite the fallout from The DAO hack, Ethereum is moving forward and looking to a bright future. By providing a user-friendly platform that enables people to harness the power of blockchain technology, Ethereum is speeding up the decentralization of the world economy. Decentralized applications have the potential to profoundly disrupt hundreds of industries including finance, real estate, academia, insurance, healthcare and the public sector amongst many others.

^ Chan, Edwin. "China Plans to Ban Cryptocurrency Mining in Renewed Clampdown". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 10 April 2019. While China was once home to about 70 percent of Bitcoin mining and 90 percent of trades, authorities have waged a nearly two-year campaign to shrink the crypto industry amid concerns over speculative bubbles, fraud and wasteful energy consumption.

تُعتبر بيتكوين عُملة معمّاة (بالإنجليزية: cryptocurrency) ويُقصد بذلك أنها تعتمد بشكل أساسي على مبادئ التشفير في جميع جوانبها، كما أنها تُعتبر أيضا العُملة الأولى من نوعها والأكثر شهرة وانتشارًا لكن رغم ذلك ليست العُملة التشفيرية الوحيدة الموجودة على شبكة الإنترنت حاليًا. حيث يتوفر ما يزيد عن 60 عُملة تشفيرية مُختلفة[6] منها 6 عُملات يُمكن وصفها بالرئيسية [7] وذلك اعتمادًا على عدد المُستخدمين وبنية كل شبكة، إضافة إلى الأماكن التي يُمكن استبدال وشراء هذه العُملات التشفيرية مُقابل عُملات أخرى. جميع العُملات التشفيرية الحالية مبنية على مبدأ عمل عُملة بيتكوين نفسها باستثناء عُملة Ripple [8]، وبما أن عُملة بيتكوين مفتوحة المصدر فإنه من المُمكن استنساخها وإدخال بعض التعديلات عليها ومن ثم إطلاق عُملة جديدة. David Golumbia says that the ideas influencing bitcoin advocates emerge from right-wing extremist movements such as the Liberty Lobby and the John Birch Society and their anti-Central Bank rhetoric, or, more recently, Ron Paul and Tea Party-style libertarianism.[132] Steve Bannon, who owns a "good stake" in bitcoin, considers it to be "disruptive populism. It takes control back from central authorities. It's revolutionary."[133] Full clients verify transactions directly by downloading a full copy of the blockchain (over 150 GB As of January 2018).[95] They are the most secure and reliable way of using the network, as trust in external parties is not required. Full clients check the validity of mined blocks, preventing them from transacting on a chain that breaks or alters network rules.[7]:ch. 1 Because of its size and complexity, downloading and verifying the entire blockchain is not suitable for all computing devices. Ethereum has recently created a new standard called the ERC721 token for tracking unique digital assets. One of the biggest use cases currently for such tokens is digital collectibles, as the infrastructure allows for people to prove ownership of scarce digital goods. Many games are currently being built using this technology, such as the overnight hit CryptoKitties, a game where you can collect and breed digital cats. The Bank for International Settlements summarized several criticisms of bitcoin in Chapter V of their 2018 annual report. The criticisms include the lack of stability in bitcoin's price, the high energy consumption, high and variable transactions costs, the poor security and fraud at cryptocurrency exchanges, vulnerability to debasement (from forking), and the influence of miners.[189][190][191]
The "Metropolis Part 1: Byzantium" soft[citation needed] fork took effect on 16 October 2017, and included changes to reduce the complexity of the EVM and provide more flexibility for smart contract developers. Byzantium also added supports for zk-SNARKs (from Zcash), with the first zk-SNARK transaction occurring on testnet on September 19, 2017.[citation needed]
بروتوكول التوجيه بين البوابات (BGP) بروتوكول التهيئة الآليّة للمضيفين (DHCP) بروتوكول التطبيقات المقيدة (CoAP) نظام أسماء النطاقات (DNS) بروتوكول نقل النصّ الفائق (HTTP) بروتوكول الوصول إلى رسائل الإنترنت (IMAP) بروتوكول النفاذ إلى الدليل البسيط (LDAP) برتوكول نقل أخبار الشبكة (NNTP) بروتوكول التوقيت في الشبكة (NTP) بروتوكول مكتب البريد (POP) بروتوكول معلومات التوجيه (RIP) بروتوكول التدفق في الزمن حقيقي (RTSP) بروتوكول وصف الجلسة (SDP) بروتوكول بدء جلسة (SIP) بروتوكول نقل الملفات (FTP) بروتوكول نقل الملفات البسيط (TFTP) بروتوكول إرسال البريد البسيط (SMTP) بروتوكول إدارة الشبكات البسيط (SNMP) بروتوكول الاتصال الآمن (SSH) بروتوكول تل نت (Telnet) سبيدي (SPDY) مزيد ..
In Ethereum all smart contracts are stored publicly on every node of the blockchain, which has costs.[57] Being a blockchain means it is secure by design and is an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. The downside is that performance issues arise in that every node is calculating all the smart contracts in real time, resulting in lower speeds.[57] As of January 2016, the Ethereum protocol could process about 25 transactions per second.[57] In comparison, the Visa payment platform processes 45,000 payments per second leading some to question the scalability of Ethereum.[58] On 19 December 2016, Ethereum exceeded one million transactions in a single day for the first time.[59]
Venture capitalists, such as Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, which invested US$3 million in BitPay, do not purchase bitcoins themselves, but instead fund bitcoin infrastructure that provides payment systems to merchants, exchanges, wallet services, etc.[154] In 2012, an incubator for bitcoin-focused start-ups was founded by Adam Draper, with financing help from his father, venture capitalist Tim Draper, one of the largest bitcoin holders after winning an auction of 30,000 bitcoins,[155] at the time called "mystery buyer".[156] The company's goal is to fund 100 bitcoin businesses within 2–3 years with $10,000 to $20,000 for a 6% stake.[155] Investors also invest in bitcoin mining.[157] According to a 2015 study by Paolo Tasca, bitcoin startups raised almost $1 billion in three years (Q1 2012 – Q1 2015).[158]
Ethereum was announced at the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami, in January, 2014.[9] During the same time as the conference, a group of people rented a house in Miami Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, and Anthony Di Iorio, a Torontonian who financed the project.[9] Di Iorio invited friend Joseph Lubin, who invited reporter Morgen Peck, to bear witness.[9] Six months later the founders met again in a house in Zug Switzerland, where Buterin told the founders that the project would proceed as a non-profit. Hoskinson left the project at that time.[9]

In 2014, researchers at the University of Kentucky found "robust evidence that computer programming enthusiasts and illegal activity drive interest in bitcoin, and find limited or no support for political and investment motives".[134] Australian researchers have estimated that 25% of all bitcoin users and 44% of all bitcoin transactions are associated with illegal activity as of April 2017. There were an estimated 24 million bitcoin users primarily using bitcoin for illegal activity. They held $8 billion worth of bitcoin, and made 36 million transactions valued at $72 billion.[225][226]

Bitcoin is a digital asset designed to work in peer-to-peer transactions as a currency.[4][135] Bitcoins have three qualities useful in a currency, according to The Economist in January 2015: they are "hard to earn, limited in supply and easy to verify."[136] Per some researchers, as of 2015, bitcoin functions more as a payment system than as a currency.[32]

The use of bitcoin by criminals has attracted the attention of financial regulators, legislative bodies, law enforcement, and the media.[218] In the United States, the FBI prepared an intelligence assessment,[219] the SEC issued a pointed warning about investment schemes using virtual currencies,[218] and the U.S. Senate held a hearing on virtual currencies in November 2013.[220] The U.S. government claimed that bitcoin was used to facilitate payments related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[221]